A Palestinian security officer has been killed in the Gaza Strip, in what appears to be part of ongoing violence between the Fatah and Hamas factions. Officials said the officer served in a unit traditionally loyal to the Fatah faction. Earlier on Sunday, a Fatah militant was killed in a gun battle. Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, leader of Hamas, has called for national unity. Meanwhile, Palestinian police have been blocking streets in protest at not being paid by the Hamas-led government. The Palestinian Authority has struggled to pay municipal salaries since it came to power in March. It has felt the squeeze of a financial boycott imposed on the Palestinian government by international donors, including the US and European Union, over Hamas's refusal to recognise the Jewish state or to renounce violence. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

The fledgling Iraqi government must "step up and take more responsibility" for the country's security, a high-ranking White House official said Monday. At the same time, Dan Bartlett denied in a television interview that the Bush administration's war policy has been a sweeping "stay the course" commitment. Senior members of Mr. Bush's national security team attended White House meetings Monday. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, just back Asia and Russia, was first to show up. She was followed by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As pre-election pressure mounts from congressional Democrats and Republicans, a new report suggests the White House is drafting a timetable that calls for the Iraqi government to assume more responsibility for security in the war-torn country. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/23/iraq/main2113418.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2113418

Hungarian police fired rubber bullets and teargas on Monday to disperse anti-government protesters marching on parliament on the 50th anniversary of the country's uprising against Soviet rule. The anniversary has been marred by a month of protests following the admission by Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany in a leaked speech that he lied about the economy to win national elections in April.Protesters seeking to march on a square outside parliament clashed with police after fighting earlier in the day led to 10 people arrested and several others injured."They are shooting rubber bullets at the protesters now," a Reuters photographer said.By 1500 GMT, police had pushed back protesters to Budapest's central square, Deak Square, and continued to fire teargas, a witness said....http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061023/ts_nm/hungary_uprising1_dc

Militants targeted police recruits and shoppers rounding up last-minute sweets and delicacies for a feast to mark the end of the Ramadan holy month, the highlight of the Muslim year. At least 44 Iraqis were reported killed across the country. The U.S. military announced the deaths of a Marine and seven soldiers, raising to 86 the number of American servicemembers killed in October the highest monthly toll this year. The pace of U.S. deaths could make October the deadliest month in two years. Six soldiers were killed Sunday, three by small arms fire west of the capital and three by roadside bombs within Baghdad, the military said. On Saturday, a Marine was killed during combat in restive Anbar province and another soldier died in fighting in Salahuddin province. "There will be no holiday in Iraq," said Abu Marwa, a 46-year-old Sunni Muslim father of three who owns a mobile phone shop in the capital. "Anyone who says otherwise is a liar." ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2599836

Berlin likes to project itself as hip and cutting edge, but the city is now having to face up to a less attractive attribute: it is skint.The city has a whopping €60bn (£40bn) debt mountain. If that sum were converted into €500 notes and then piled into a tower, it would be half as high again as Mount Everest and weigh the equivalent of 320 baby elephants, the tabloid Bild helpfully calculated.Most of the city's debt was amassed after the cold war, when its lucrative flow of pocket money from West Germany dried up. These days, it forks out €2.4bn a year on interest alone.Last Thursday, Berlin took its begging bowl to Germany's highest court to request emergency aid from central funds. Surprising pundits and those who made the bid, the claim was rejected. Yes, Berlin's finances looked bleak, the court admitted; but it was also "highly likely" that it could sort out its debts on its own....http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,1929483,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

On the day after the September 11 terrorist attacks, senior British intelligence officials told their American counterparts that they would not support retaliatory action against Iraq, a new book claims. Tyler Drumheller, who worked for the CIA for 26 years and rose to become head of the agency's European operations, says the former CIA director George Tenet received a "powerful delegation from a very close European ally" at the CIA's headquarters on September 12 2001. According to Drumheller in his book, On the Brink, the head of the delegation told Mr Tenet that "his government stood by us ... and that we could count on it for any and all support." But the official continued: "I hope we can all agree that we should concentrate on Afghanistan and not be tempted to launch any attacks on Iraq." According to Drumheller, Mr Tenet replied, "Absolutely, we all agree on that."...http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1928874,00.html